Constitution - Councillor and officer protocol

Officers have the following main roles: 

• managing and providing the services which the Council has given them responsibility for and being accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of those services
• providing advice to the Council and its various bodies and to individual councillors on the services provided
• initiating policy proposals
• implementing agreed policy, whilst ensuring that the Council always acts in a lawful manner

Some officers are authorised to initiate, certify or negotiate financial transactions or commercial arrangements, subject in certain cases to the need to obtain formal member approval. 

Certain officers have responsibilities in law over and above their obligations to the authority and members. These are known as statutory officers and include the Chief Executive/Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer (s151 officer). Councillors must respect these responsibilities and not obstruct or victimise officers in carrying out their responsibilities. 

Respect and courtesy 

For the effective conduct of council business there must be mutual respect, trust and courtesy in all meetings and contacts, both formal and informal, between councillors and officers. A councillor who is unhappy about the actions taken by, or conduct of, an officer should: 

• avoid personal attacks on, or abuse of the officer
• ensure that any criticism is well founded and constructive
• never make a criticism in public
• take up the concern with the relevant Head of Service or Strategic Director to whom the officer ultimately reports or with the Chief Executive where it involves a Strategic Director or other Statutory Officer

Undue pressure

Councillors should not apply undue pressure on an officer either to do anything that they are not empowered to do or to undertake work outside normal duties or hours or lobby an officer. 

Officers must not influence an individual councillor to make a decision in their favour, raise personal matters to do with their job or make claims or allegations about other officers. 

Familiarity 

Close personal familiarity between individual councillors and officers must be avoided as it can damage the principle of mutual respect or lead to the passing of confidential information between them. 

Breach of protocol 

Procedure for councillors

• If a councillor considers that they have not been treated with proper respect or courtesy, they may raise the issue with the officer’s line manager. If unresolved it can be referred to the relevant Strategic Director/Chief Executive responsible for the officer concerned. Breach of the Protocol may result in disciplinary proceedings against an officer.
• If the officer is a Strategic Director or other Statutory Officer the matter should be raised with the Chief Executive. If the employee concerned is the Chief Executive the matter should be raised with the Monitoring Officer. If a councillor is unsure how to proceed or wishes to discuss the conduct of another councillor toward officers, they should discuss this with their group leader. 

Procedure for officers 

• If an officer considers that a councillor is in breach of protocol, they should consult their line manager who will if necessary involve the relevant Strategic Director. If resolution through a senior manager is not possible, officers may escalate concerns to the Chief Executive. They also have access to the council’s Whistleblowing Procedure.
• In some circumstances, breach of the Protocol may also constitute a breach of the Councillor Code of Conduct and the matter can be referred to the Monitoring Officer.

Provision of advice and information 

Councillors can request information, explanations and advice from any Head of Service to support their role, subject to legal constraints and resource limitations. 

They also have legal rights to inspect documents relating to business to be transacted at Council, Cabinet and Committee or subcommittee meetings, including background papers, regardless of membership. 

While this right doesn’t extend to exempt (Part II) agenda items, these documents are made available to all councillors in the spirit of openness. Further details are outlined in the access to information rules. 

Councillors have common law rights to inspect council documents, based on the “need to know” principle. This means they can access information necessary to carry out their duties, but not for general interest. The relevant Head of Service, Team Manager, or Strategic Director (advised by the Monitoring Officer) will determine whether this need is justified. Any information provided must be used solely for council-related responsibilities.

The Code of Conduct restricts the disclosure of confidential information provided to councillors. Any councillor encountering difficulty or uncertainty about access to documents should contact the Monitoring Officer. 

Councillors do, of course, have the same right as any other member of the public to make requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Political activity 

Officers are employed by the council as a whole and are accountable to the Chief Executive and their Strategic Director, not to individual councillors, regardless of their position. Officers must remain politically neutral, especially those in posts designated as “politically restricted” under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

Party groups have statutory recognition and often review council business ahead of formal decision making. Officers can provide information and advice to these groups but must maintain neutrality and treat all members fairly. Support may include briefings or presentations and, while often requested by the group controlling the council, is available to all.

Key principles for officer involvement in this process: 

• Support is limited to providing information and advice in relation to matters of council business.
• Officers must not be involved in advising on party business.
• Whilst party group meetings form part of the preliminaries to council decision making, they are not empowered to make decisions on behalf of the Council.
• Similarly, where officers provide information and advice to a party group on a matter of council business, this cannot act as a substitute for providing all necessary information and advice to the Cabinet, relevant Committee or Sub-Committee when the matter in question is considered.
• Special care needs to be taken whenever officers are involved in providing information and advice to a party group meeting which includes people who are not members of the Council. These people are not bound by the Councillor Code of Conduct. For this reason, officers cannot attend.
• Officers must respect the confidentiality of any party group discussions where they are present by not relating the content of any these discussions to another party group.

Correspondence 

Correspondence between a councillor and an officer, especially when initiated by the councillor, should not be copied to other councillors.

If the original message included other members, the response can be shared with all recipients. In rare cases where copying in another councillor is necessary, this must be made clear to the original sender; “silent copies” must not be used.

Official council letters should be issued in the name of the appropriate officer. In certain cases, such as representations to a government minister, a letter may be sent in a councillor’s name, but this should remain the exception. Letters that create obligations or give instructions on behalf of the council must never be sent in a councillor’s name.

Use of council resources 

The council provides resources in the Members’ Room, such as IT facilities, telephones and photocopying to support councillors in carrying out their official duties. These services are offered strictly for councillor use in carrying out their role as members of the Council.

Publicity and media 

Media contact about council matters should be handled through the Communications Manager. 

Any councillor who approaches the media purporting to speak on behalf of the council on any item involving or affecting the council should first consult with the Communications Manager. 

Restrictions apply about publicity issued during election periods. Contact the Communications Manager or Monitoring Officer if in doubt.

More information

To learn more about codes and protocols read the full document: